OT: Because I thought I could

[awp101]

These "because I can" threads got me to thinking last weekend about doing a small project of some sort. It had to be something I hadn't done before so I could have a new experience since I have a bad case of Sherlock Holmes Syndrome. I think I should be able to pick up any tool/hobby/project and get it correct right out of the box. (Sherlock Holmes thought the same thing and actually could except for one thing: the violin. He never could master the violin and it was a major source of frustration for him).

Looking around the garage I saw my Acu'rizer in the shipping box. I also saw the scrap wood I picked up for free from the cabinetry company next to my work. Hmmm....

I did some thinking, eyeballing, a tiny bit of measuring and came up with this:




I knew it wasn't "right" ( I drilled through the top in two places, things don't line up correctly, etc) so I decided to redo it today. I took my time, did a lot more measuring and planning and this is how it turned out:



It's still not "right" and it's taller than I initially wanted but it's much better than the first. Also, the top will double as a handy base for using the Acu'rizer itself when at the range. I discovered too late that the block I used wasn't square. I did some rasping and sanding but it's going to be a challenge with my limited skill set to fix that part of it when I decide to go further.

[Pitchy]

See ya can cool idea and going to look great.

[Mescalero]

Have you got measurements?

[J Miller]

Not bad at all. The fellow I "borrowed" the Paco's tool I have from did something similar.

Hmmm, I do believe I have had that tool long enough. Even though I haven't been able to finish the test of the ammo I did, I should send it back. Yeah, I really should. M Hmm.

Joe

[Mescalero]

You really should.

[awp101]

Thanks!

Once I get it "right" I'll stain it and fashion a bucked strap to keep it closed during transport.

Have you got measurements?

Let's see...a yard is 36" or 3', a knot is 1.15mph, a fathom is 6' (I think), a quarter mile is 1320'....

I don't have the outside dimensions handy but I want to say it's a little over 6" tall (split approximately 2"/4" between the top and bottom), almost 3"x2", the bottom half was bored 2-2.5" deep for the Acu'rzr and around 1.5" deep for the rods. The top was bored 1-1.5" for the Acu'rzr and rods.

I'll get the actual outside measurements later tonight or tomorrow.

[2ndovc]

Not bad at all. The fellow I "borrowed" the Paco's tool I have from did something similar.

Hmmm, I do believe I have had that tool long enough. Even though I haven't been able to finish the test of the ammo I did, I should send it back. Yeah, I really should. M Hmm.

Joe

Well since you brought it up.
My Dad picked up a Ruger Auto that shows some promise but
needs some tweaking. Love to get it back if you're done with
it Professor.


Andrew,
I set mine in a left over chunk of cherry hand rail.
That along with a piece of Delrin/Star-Board for a base.
Works good. Just tap it!


jb

[Mescalero]

I get the feeling awp101 never worked in a machine shop

[J Miller]

Not bad at all. The fellow I "borrowed" the Paco's tool I have from did something similar.

Hmmm, I do believe I have had that tool long enough. Even though I haven't been able to finish the test of the ammo I did, I should send it back. Yeah, I really should. M Hmm.

Joe

Well since you brought it up.
My Dad picked up a Ruger Auto that shows some promise but
needs some tweaking. Love to get it back if you're done with
it Professor.


Andrew,
I set mine in a left over chunk of cherry hand rail.
That along with a piece of Delrin/Star-Board for a base.
Works good. Just tap it!


jb

Jason,
Will get it packed up and do my best to get it back to you this week.
Sorry I kept it for so long, I didn't realize how long it was.
Joe

[awp101]

I get the feeling awp101 never worked in a machine shop

What gave it away?

One of the things I'd do if I hit the lottery is buy one of the warehouses near me, buy some machinist equipment and hire an instructor from the local JuCo to teach me how to use it.

[Mescalero]

Come to N.M. and play with my stuff............ cheaper.

[Jeff H]

......It's still not "right" .........

That's not the easiest project you picked, but it looks like you learned a bit from the first go and made improvements.
If you're not completely happy with it, don't sweat it. It just means you're picky.

That's what drives you to try harder and do things over and over.
I get rather irritated when people think that it's easy for me to do something or assume I have some "natural gift."
I DON"T. I work hard to make things come out right. I redo a lot of things and I start over again a lot of times, but in t he end, I get (almost) there. Woodworking, stockwork, gunsmithing, setting tile, making sheaths, you name it, whether I have been at it for years or just jump in, I have to work at it.

My wife is the same way. She is making a pair of knitted socks from four mismatched partial skeins of leftover yarn for the fair. She has four skeins hanging off this sock, four knitting needles, not a flaw, loose end or a knot ANYWHERE on it and she is going to pull it all out and start over. "It's not right" she tells me. Been at it a long time and you would think she could whizz through a pair of socks in a day - and people tell her "you're so lucky - your stuff always looks so nice...."

Anything I have ever done that came out right or good looking was by a rare stroke of luck, or as is most offten the case - because I am bullheaded and keep at it until I figure it out - and then share what I have learned whenever I know it would be appreciated. Some folks learn "tricks" and then won't tell anyone how they did something because the like it when people think things came easy to them. Not me. I want credit for all the hard work and thought it took.

[Mescalero]

Thought I was the only one who " muddled his way through things "

[adirondakjack]

Anything worth doing is worth doing wrong (in order to learn how to do it right).

Yer getting there.

Some years ago I carved a box from a block of Caribbean Mahogany (I was down there, we had lots of it) to hold a sharpening stone. I cut the insides out by hand, with a chisel, put the stone in the tightly fitted box, then ran the missmatched top and bottom, with the stone inside, through a table saw to straighten it. (Hint, hint, maybe use a plug made from PVC pipe wrapped with tape to fit snug in the big hole.....)

[awp101]

That's not the easiest project you picked

I figured that out when I started laying out how to make the top and bottom holes line up.

If you're not completely happy with it, don't sweat it. It just means you're picky.

I'm having to learn to balance "picky" with my skill set. I guess if I go to far trying to square it all up I'll just have to find another piece of wood.

Some folks learn "tricks" and then won't tell anyone how they did something because the like it when people think things came easy to them. Not me. I want credit for all the hard work and thought it took.

Amen! I earned those ice cream headaches trying to figure it out!

Thought I was the only one who " muddled his way through things "

If it weren't for muddlin' through, I wouldn't get much of anything done.

Some years ago I carved a box from a block of Caribbean Mahogany (I was down there, we had lots of it) to hold a sharpening stone. I cut the insides out by hand, with a chisel, put the stone in the tightly fitted box, then ran the missmatched top and bottom, with the stone inside, through a table saw to straighten it. (Hint, hint, maybe use a plug made from PVC pipe wrapped with tape to fit snug in the big hole.....)

Hmmm, I like that idea! It's not off by enough to use the table saw but I do have a jigsaw. Clamp a straight edge to the blocks held together with the PVC....hmmmm.

[JHarold]

You know, we all have a little MCGYVER in us. I think we get more pleasure out of a project that utilizes "stuff" we have laying around the place.
When I go to the Thrift stores I am always wondering, "what could I use that for" as I walk up and down the rows.

right now I am trying to convert a jogging stroller into a range cart.

"Because I thought I could" I will have to use that. Nice job on your project.